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Torngat is Inuktitut, for “place of spirits,” or as some say, “evil spirits.”

It is the highest mountain range on the Canadian Shield and its sinister, treeless peaks, emerging startlingly from the Atlantic, form dramatic fiords and countless vistas. Along the way, a few caribou and a black bear are spotted. But the polar bears are still out at sea.

The highest peak, at 1,652 metres, is D’Iberville (Que.) or Caubvick (N.L.), depending from which side you view it. It sits four-square on the provincial border, most often enshrouded in cloud.

As the wind swirls, micro weather systems emerge as if out nowhere, and as a new fiord jumps into view, you cannot help but be swept up by the curious magnetism of this paradise.

Torngat was named a national park in 2005 and joins the ranks of those difficult-to-reach parks across Canada’s North.

Two weeks before, I took another helicopter to crisscross the mostly inaccessible Wapusk National Park on the western shores of Hudson Bay.

Here it was the eerie beauty of the ageless tundra stretched out as far as the eye could see. Sadly, the polar bears were still out on Hudson Bay, glutted from their annual kill of seals, I was told. We did see, however, some caribou, wild swans and countless seabirds.

What I discovered was the more I watched, the more mesmerized I became by the tundra. The park is close to Churchill, Man., and an old military base, once home to thousands of U.S. servicemen.

What you see are the tracks from vehicles and explorers etched decades ago. “Once you make a mark on the tundra, it simply never goes away,” says pilot Leo Vergnano. He comes out from his B.C. home every season just to pilot around Wapusk and area.

As part of my odyssey, I also visited the two national parks at either end of the St. Lawrence River — Thousand Islands at the western source and Mingan Archipelago at the very eastern end.

While the charming islands and magnificent estates of the Thousand Islands are a treat, the rock monoliths on the Mingan Archipelago along Quebec’s north shore are downright stunning.

Forged in the ice age, they rise like spectacular sculptures on the southern beaches of the islands.

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A local poet from Havre-Saint-Pierre took it upon himself to name the nearly 400 monoliths. My favourite is “Richard Nixon.” The stone nose is perfect.

The boat tour through the sprawling archipelago, with the occasional whale breaking water, is not to be missed.

Finally, my journeys have also taken me to four of the five national parks on Canada’s Great Lakes. I am holding off on a visit to Point Pelee on Lake Erie until butterfly migration this fall.

Pukaskwa on the shores of Lake Superior is a thickly wooded preserve on the world’s largest freshwater lake (by surface area).

The power and might of this huge body of water never ceases to amaze. It holds as much water as all the other Great Lakes combined with a few extra Lake Eries thrown in for good measure.

The day I visited, it was uncommonly calm under a blazing full sun. Yet its majestic power was unmistakable.

A bold surprise came a few days later with the rushing brooks, mysterious trails, single-lane bridges and quaint cemetery all tucked into Rouge Park, which is in the midst of transitioning into a national park in northeast Scarborough. When expansion is completed, the Rouge National Urban Park will be one of the largest urban parks of its kind in the world.

Visiting it in early spring under the feathery verdure of the forest canopy, I was totally surprised to turn a corner and catch a glimpse of Scarborough Town Centre off in the distance.

It is very easy to drive through or hike — or even canoe.

So where will I be on Canada Day?

In a national park, of course.

There is one in Georgian Bay very close to my cottage. A picnic with the family sounds perfect.

This is one in a series of columns by John Honderich, chairman of the board of Torstar, as he attempts to visit all of Canada’s national parks during the country’s 150th birthday year.

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